Understanding Open System in IBS

Kamarul Anuar Mohamad Kamar, Elias Ismail, Emasria Ismail, Zuhairi Abd. Hamid, Maria Zura Mohd
Zin, Mohd. Khairolden Ghani and Ahmad Hazim Rahim (2009), Understanding Open System in IBS,
B&I Magazine, Nov- Dec 2009.
Introduction
The fundamental idea of Industrialised Building System (IBS) is to move some effort away from
construction site to manufacturing floor. In IBS construction, building components are pre-fabricated at
factory and transport to site for installation. The government of Malaysia has agreed to expand the
method of IBS in construction sector and endorsed the content of IBS Roadmap 2003- 2010 to guide
the mission.
One of the main objectives of the roadmap is to introduce Open Building System (OBS) concept by the
year 2010. OBS is the long term and systematic approach toward a positive development of building
industry. The introduction of OBS will not only reengineer our construction process (supply-chain,
trades, design, etc.) but will transform the way of doing business in construction. It allows openness in
IBS supply chain where builders can bid for lower price of components. It encourages participation
from manufactures and assemblers to enter the market, thus reducing the price of IBS components.
OBS creates new businesses and develop more small and medium company particularly Bumiputera
manufacturer that capable to produce construction components.
OBS also giving the values to customers by providing aesthetical, practical option and flexibility to
construction products profitable market since the supplier will only be motivated to invest in new
products and innovation solution if they can foresee enough sales. Local technologies on IBS
component such as in lightweight components and interlocking blocks can be fully utilised. OBS allows
at some points, customers and housebuyers to be involved in design, trough selection of building
components at the onset of the project. The adoption of the OBS together with fully utilisation of IBS
will greatly benefit the building industry as it increases the production capacity, lower manpower
requirement, shorten construction time, improve quality and in the long run bring down the overall
building cost.
Definition
Open Building System (OBS) was first promoted during the rebuilding years of post-war Netherlands.
The rules for dimensions, positions and interfaces of components are important elements of OBS. It
can be defined with the following characteristics:
OBS is an innovative design and construction
It allows interchangeability of components and sub-system from variety of manufactures and
suppliers
It takes advantage of an open market of building components that fit together, geometrically and
functionally for a wide variety of building types
It will encourage participation from manufactures and assemblers to enter the market, thus reducing
the price of IBS components
It advocates a concept of modularity and separation of different levels of decision-making
The use of standard jointing system to fix two or more system together in one building
It allows customer involvement in design. Customer can chose any building components using
components catalogue provided by the developers
OBS will encourage higher level of industrialisation through pre-assembly and automation
OBS vs. Closed System
Current systems in Malaysia which supports the usage of Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) are
mainly a close system, where each component manufacturers have their own propriety building
systems to be adopted in the project. A closed system can be classified into two categories, namely
production based on clients design and production based on manufacturers design. The first category

is designed to meet a spatial requirement of the clients that is the spaces required for various
functions in the building as well as the specific architectural design.
In this instance, the clients needs are paramount and the manufacturer is always forced to produce a
specific component for a building. On the other hand, the production based on manufacturers design
includes designing and producing a uniform type of building or a group of building variants, which can
be produced with common assortments of component. Nevertheless, these types of building
arrangement can be justified economically only when the architectural design observes large repetitive
element and standardisation. In respect to this, closed systems can overcome the requirement of
many standardised elements by automating the design and production process and sufficient demand
for a typical type of building such as school so that a mass production can be obtained.
In Open Building System (OBS), a building can use two or more systems. It allows openness to
selects components supplier where everybody can bid to produce lower price of components.
Manufacturer and installer will look for cooperation models that will create benefit for both. OBS also
allows the precaster to produce a limited number of elements with pre-determined range of product
and at the same time maintaining architectural aesthetic value. The cost of building components will
be reduced in the long run where plenty of options are available in the market. It also permits hybrid
application.
Modularity
With the introduction of Open Building System (OBS), dimensional coordination and accuracy of sizing
of building material and components become essential and extremely important. It therefore require a
solution to overcome the detrimental effects of changes in decision making to position and dimension
in building process. Therefore, Modular Coordination (MC) provides means to simplify those decisions
making by putting them in an orderly manner.
MC is a concept of coordination of dimensions and space where buildings and components are
dimensioned and positioned in a basic unit or module known as 1M which is equivalent to 100 mm. It
is well documented in the Malaysian Standard MS 10064: Part I -10: 2001. The rules set by the
Malaysian Standard MS 1064 that were based on Nederlands Normalisatie Instituut (NNI)s NEN
6000; the standards for MC in design of buildings. The system allows standardisation in design and
building components. It will encourage participation from manufactures and assemblers to enter the
market, thus reducing the price of IBS components.
The proposed enforcement of using MC through Uniform Building By-Law (UBBL) would encourage
the adoption through standardisation and the use of IBS components. MC will allow designer to design
building with standard sizes so the manufacturer will be able to produce standard size components.
MC has been introduced in Malaysia since 1986, but has not been widely implemented in the building
industry. The main factors limiting the uses of MC in building industries is lack of knowledge on MC
concept and it requires precision dimensioning and proper planning.
Integration and Coordination in OBS
The major systems include the building site, the structural envelope, the division of space inside the
building, the plumbing, wiring, heating and cooling, and the cabinets, furniture and other stuff that
people put inside the building. By disentangling the systems and subsystems from each other,
opportunities are increased for better organization, increased consistency, quality and more control
and flexibility for the homeowner.
The key aspect of OBS is dimensional coordination to allow flexibility in form of construction, and the
capacity to deal with differences in dimension and tolerance. In order to obtain an optimal result, a
high degree of coordination must exist between various relevant parties such as designer,
manufacturer, owner, and contractor. This is achieved through an integrated system in which all these
functions are performed under a unified authority. Therefore the subdivision of the building process
needs to reflect the lines of decision making and the definition of responsibilities between the parties.
This subdivision can then be translated into specifications for connections between building parts.

The interchangeability aspect of OBS requires detailed organisation and coordination of building
activities such the production, transportation and erection of the various building components at the
worksite to achieve short construction period and a high exploitation of resources and investment. One
of the most important aspects of any organization is its communication structure. Good communication
among a team of architects and builders who have clearly defined roles is a rarity in the building
industry today. The person who designs a building often never meets the electrician or plumber with
the result that each piece of a home is built without considering the whole picture. In the building
industry good communication has remained difficult to achieve because of the fractured nature of both
the industry and any given project. Information technology can take a significant part of development
by providing a better communication channel.
Barriers on OBS
The ideal state of having OBS for the whole industry is very unlikely in the near future as stipulated
under the roadmap by the year 2010. This is because the industry already has 138 IBS systems
providers with 375 IBS products that cover precast concrete frames, panels and blocks, steel frames,
prefabricated timber frames as well as system formworks. Each system provider has invested heavily
and not all systems or production facilities are easily adjustable or convertible. Other shortcomings to
OBS include:
Malaysian construction has very diverse group of stakeholders, which can have very different
objectives, requirement and disagreement between stakeholders
Lack of successful global recognize project on OBS using materials and products on available widely
on open market
Key issue in OBS is to educate clients and designers.
OBS is not guaranteed the aesthetics demanded by the end users
The implementation faced joint and connection problem. It occur when two element from different
systems are fixed together. The standardization of joint and connection detail is needed
The adaptation required an extensive transfer of knowledge, skills and technology in order to reorient
change in business process. The market situation is also a factor where some markets seem ready for
OBS but whilst other none.
The existing structure and legal regulation of construction industry.
Market monopolise by big manufacturing company of close system.
Recommendations
Steps proposed for the successful introduction of Open Building System (OBS) in Malaysia:
Educate the clients and create a market demand for OBS. Ultimately, the clients are the one who
dictate the construction method of their projects.
To introduce OBS, it is important to promote the development that meets the expectation of the
sectors. An important way to get to know and understand that expectation of the sector is to involve
stakeholders (architect, construction companies, developers and public administrators) from the
beginning, gathering and analyzing the requirement
OBS needs Life Cycle methods in order to state the requirement and consider user needs, to be able
to design for required performance and life cycle, and to be able to make decisions between
alternative option, this include introduction of Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing
Uniform building regulation formulated to support OBS and standardisation is necessary to
encourage industrialisation by establishing uniform requirement throughout the country. It is also
important that the regulation be administrated and interpreted uniformly
Improvement in logistics; manufactures of construction components and site shall adopt just in time
technique, optimization of handling devise and tools and automation method to achieve cost reduction
OBS requires extensive ICT tools; development of software tools in order to help users for the
selection of adequate option, for instance, a dynamic catalogue
Malaysian standard joints for IBS (wet or dry) must be designed and made available for use by the
industry.
OBS buildings must be competitive in terms of cost, performance and quality as compared to
proprietary system and conventional methods in order to be sustainable in the construction market,
thus enhanced OBS concept in Malaysia
A complete comprehensive encompassing the entire construction value chain will ensure OBS

success. These shall include verification, validation and certification of process on construction
components, fabricator, factory, erector and related skills of specialization
Considerable investment for training, education and technology transfer. The training must equip the
professionals with timely and relevant skills. More Research and Development (R&D) in soft and hard
issues of OBS
OBM has to harmonize its approach, model and tools with the legal regulation and standard.
The Way Forward
The industry through government bodies like CIDB and SIRIM needs to develop Malaysian Standard
Joint for IBS components. It is significant because of two prefabricated parts only fit on the building
site if their dimensions and connections are well coordinated. Current developed joint are used in
closed system protected by patent. They are specifically design to fit the pre-caster prefabricated
component and it is not supporting holistic concept of openness in OBS. At present, CIDB through
their research arm, Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM) has been collaborated with
Public Work Department (PWD) and expert from University of Nottingham are developing the standard
joint that look into the strength, stiffness, ductility and stability of the connection. The Malaysian
Standard Joints will be available by the end of 2010. Furthermore, OBS can be success by introducing
client-orientation approach. It can be materialized by targeting and penetrating the upper market and
high-end urban development. The customers at this level are keen on the aesthetical products and
practical design space of the building and OBS provide variety of available finishes and design
concepts.
Marketing OBS concept to this target group will give a huge and profitable market since the supplier
will only be motivated to invest in new products and innovation solution if they can foresee enough
sales. Educate the customers to be more involved in design stage is the way forward to promote OBS.
Customer can choose their building materials at the onset of housing development. This can create
good marketing gimmick to developers in order to attract homebuyers. Developers, then can play their
role to advice designers to design according to Modular Coordination (MC) and based on available
IBS components in the market. Then, the contractors will pay the role of coordinating the installation of
components according to customers wish. Based on IBS Roadmap, CIDB will publish OBS Roadmap,
introduce OBS Steering Committee, to conduct OBS international seminar, publish OBS catalogue and
to use OBS as a main criteria to judge the contender for Malaysian Construction Industry Excellent
Award (MCIEA).
IBS Roadmap also keen to produce more Bumiputera contractor to be as a manufacture or erector in
the near future. The construction of life-size structures at the compound of IBS Centre, Kuala Lumpur
will be the first ever attempt at show-casing a diverse range of products and techniques in the
construction technology market. The full scale structures will demonstrate attempts at using the OBS
and combination of multi IBS products and components in building designed according to MS 1064,
the MC design standard.
The components involve in this OBS pilot projects are from Pryda (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. (Roof trusses),
BPB Malaysia Gypsum Sdn Bhd. (Internal wall partitions), IJM Building Systems Sdn Bhd. (Formwork
systems), Corporate Builders Sdn Bhd (PC Walls), Baktian Sdn Bhd (PC Walls), ACP Industries Bhd
(Half Slabs), Setia Precast Sdn Bhd (PC Walls), Eastern Pretech Sdn Bhd. (Hollow Core Slabs & Toilet
Pod), PJD Concrete Products Sdn Bhd (PC Walls), Zenbes Sdn Bhd (Blocks), CSR Building Materials
(M) Sdn Bhd (Light-weight Blocks), Lafarge Roofing Systems Sdn Bhd (Roof Tiles), VS Interior Dcor
Sdn Bhd (Railings), Hoe Fock Wooden Works Sdn Bhd (Wooden Windows & Door Frames), STO Sea
Sdn Bhd (Painting), Johan Ceramics Berhad (Tiles).
Lets hope that OBS will not only improve performance and quality in construction, minimize the
dependency of unskilled foreign labours but also giving the values to customers by providing
aesthetical, practical option and flexibility to construction products profitable market since the supplier
will only be motivated to invest in new products and innovation solution if they can foresee enough
sales.